Harry Redknapp has been constantly been given praise since taking over the reins at White Hart Lane- I know that I for one have been singing the Spurs’ manager’s praises on a few occasions and it seems warranted given how the club’s fortunes have changed since Harry took over. Then there’s the constant credit for the players who are performing better than anyone had anticipated with lots of praise going to the most obvious examples. But there are men who haven’t got the credit they deserve who’ve done all they can to help the club transcend to the next level – these men? The coaches, Harry’s coaching team who’ve assembled to distil confidence into the Tottenham players.

I remember when Rafa Benitez’s second in charge Pako Ayesteran left Liverpool and they suffered some poor results and people claimed that Ayesteran was more important than they’d realised and had been essential to Liverpool’s good form alongside Rafa. Then there’s Carlos Queiroz who, although deemed not good enough to be Manchester United manager, was considered an important part of their structure as assistant manager and it’s telling that United had a poor season the one year Queiroz left to become Real Madrid manager. It seems that the only time staff get credit is once they’ve left the club and fans realise what they’re missing.

Tottenham’s staff have definitely played a role in shaping the way the club is performing; who better to instruct players in how to play out their roles well than men who’ve been in the same situation themselves and know what the players are up against? It’s not really that long since Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand were international footballers and their experience in their respective positions is now being handed down to the current crop at Spurs. It’s showing too through the English players – notice the improved form of Tom Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe, surely this could be a direct result of the influence from Sherwood and Ferdinand? These men have been there and know how it’s done better than a coach who’s simply studied the art of attacking and considers himself an expert.

And then there’s Harry trusted assistants Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond; naturally they have their experience from their earlier careers but their roles are different. There must be a reason that Harry has had faith in taking them with him from Portsmouth to Tottenham and why Bond also followed him to Southampton. Harry trusts these two men because he knows how good they are – man management, confidence boosting, tactics, these guys know it all and have helped Harry install his way of football at the Lane which is proving very good for Spurs.

Obviously any staff member other than the manager is expected to be behind the scenes unless they have to do the manager’s press conferences for him like Mike Phelan has to do for Alex Ferguson. This results in the fans not even considering these men as important when thinking of their clubs’ success but they are more culpable for it than you’d imagine. The acquisitions of these staff members is perhaps as important in shaping Tottenham as the arrival of Harry Redknapp himself was and they are proving something of a Dream Team for Tottenham off the pitch.

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